Prior to this class, I had never taken much time to consider just how much data is collected about people from their presence online. I had never considered the amount of information that can truly be processed through a web search or a simple question asked to Siri or Alexa. Between watching a few TED talks and the Age of AI documentary (which I'll talk about in a separate post), I was honestly pretty startled.
Among the most startling of these realizations, is the fact that a vast majority of phone calls are recorded, and could potentially be listened to by anyone. I have spent a great deal of time considering how the age of AI could impact the future. One of the biggest things I think it will cause is a multitude of scandals for public figures. To be blunt, 30 years from now, if the worst thing that comes out about a Presidential candidate is a video of him doing cocaine in a fraternity bathroom, he is likely a pretty clean character.
Not only this, but there is a multitude of privacy invasions which occur on the level of an ordinary citizen as well. "Revenge porn" has become an increasingly common problem. Revenge porn is the term for when a relationship ends, and one member of the relationship releases private content, whether texts or pictures, to the public. This is done out of spite in order to shame and humiliate the other member of the relationship.
I have talked in my past blogs about the way that I view the internet and about how it does more harm than good at this point in time. All of these things that I am discussing in this article is just another tidbit of supporting evidence. People are welcoming invasions of their own privacy because they are often blissfully unaware it is even happening. Surveillance technology is coming with them into their homes, their bedrooms, their bathrooms. It is a startling truth that the government, or a big tech company, or anyone, could potentially have access to the most private aspects of our lives.
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